Bleeds Pirate Blue

The 2015 Poole Pirates finished the year at the top of the Elite League as the #1 seed for the playoffs (clear by 4pts). They scored the most points of all Elite League clubs (1,383), 58 more than the next best scoring team, Belle Vue. That's more than two points per meeting on average better than any other team. In 2015, Poole have raced Coventry on five occasions, winning three, drawing one and losing one. The cumulative score for the five matches is Poole 223-195 Coventry. The one Poole loss is notable for the fact that Pirates #1, Maciej Janowski (10.40 home CMA) was replaced by guest Richard Lawson, who scored 4 points. But yeah, the use of Edward Kennett as a guest rider for Dakota North, compliant with the rules of the sport, will be the reason the Pirates win the league, if that is how it all plays out?

Are we REALLY going to have a debate about the fairness of the guest rule in here, right now? I suppose Poole are behind the Guest rule now as well? It feels like people are clutching at straws/trolling now. The guest rule has been part and parcel of British Speedway for as long as we all remember. Don't bring it up as an excuse for your teams success/failure. It's the same for everyone. Sometimes it works out well for you, sometimes badly... Get over it...

I would suggest certain facts need to be known definitively before Poole can be accused of cheating. Firstly, when did Dak's father get injured? Secondly, how serious is the injury? Perhaps then can you establish a timeline for whether Poole "fiddled" this incident. Also, just because other riders have choosen to continue racing soon after serious incidents may have affected them emotionally is their own choice. People react differently, and if someone's decisions are different to your own, so be it. Also, speedway has long been a sport with poor rules and loopholes. Everyone takes advantage whenever they can and screams bloody murder as soon as another team does it. Yes Dak has been poor in the last month, and this incident gives Poole an opportunity to replace him, but to suggest it's a setup is crazy. By all accounts a man has been hurt in an industrial accident and people on here are finger pointing and hurling insults. Disgraceful. It disappoints me that speedway, a sport generally supported by a maturer audience, can have such a vindictive and poisonous supporter base. I wonder how many on here look at the younger generation of "hoodies" and happy-slapping and shake their heads, yet use Internet speedway forums to act the troll and spout nonsense.

Proud is certainly the right word. It's been a difficult week as a Poole fan and it was a rousing performance. Up the Pirates! Let's do this for Darcy.

Outstanding display from a very fired up Pirates team tonight. The atmosphere was very muted to start but soon got loud as the Pirates put on a swashbuckling show. Matt Ford got very emotional after the meeting talking about Darcy.